


Phantom Future

by applelord



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24188326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/applelord/pseuds/applelord
Summary: Long after the rise and fall of the Phantom Thieves, the once unbreakable bonds between the partners in crime seem to have all but faded away completely- until the young man once known as Joker experiences a dream of a velvet prison once again, and resolves to take back the future, one last time.
Relationships: Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Comments: 20
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren Amamiya hears a voice.

_"This world is filling with distortion once again,"_ an infinitely wise yet childlike voice fills his head, calling from some blinky, inpenetrable darkness.

_ Huh? _

_"The time for the Trickster has risen once again..."_ He feels like he's drowning, like an endless torrent of crimson, toxic rain is filling his eyes and mouth.

_ Who? _

_ "Ren Amamiya... Won't you open your eyes?" _

He feels the startlingly familiar sensation of his skin peeling off his face like a waxing that's penetrating down to muscle and bone, his irises burning a blinding yellow as a sea of souls screams in his heart, aching to run wild.

He wakes up in his shared apartment, sheets soaked through with his own blood, the name of some long-forgotten figure caught in his drowning throat. 

"Sumire...!" He hacks out, instinctively clawing at his own eyes, trying to tear off something that *isn't there.*

"M-Morgana! Hel-"

*What you have feared all along has come to pass.* A deep, growling voice-it can't be his own.

*Call my name and commit all sacrilege in the name of thine own justice!*

"S-S-gah!-"

He keels over, scrambling across his floor, trying to stumble his way into the bathroom, unable to control the instinct to tear off the thing stuck to his face.

He violently shoves past the bathroom door connected to the bedroom he's been sharing with*-can't remember, have to take it off, nothing else matters-* and slams into the bathroom sink, trying to force his eyes to adjust.

He swears someone with a blue inferno in place of a mouth and eyes is grinning back at him.

Someone else is in his body. It chuckles and says what he's struggling to say with his own mouth.

"No... No, you're not Satanael."

He feels it. His fingers dig into his bloodied brow and he feels the mask.

He keeps laughing, despite himself. He feels fearless, a daredevil on a highwire act. He feels like a true rebel for the first time in some five years.

"PER-"

"SENPAI!" A princess with a voice so familiar and comforting it feels like he's falling asleep on his feet calls his name. 

"HOLY CRAP!" A boyish voice that his brain is struggling to not confuse with a cat yowling at him shouts.

He feels something like a chain snapping from strain in his head as a pair of deceptively athletic arms catch his collapsing body before it crumbles into the tile.

He tries to cough up name, but it's useless.

"Wh-Ren, what- what happened?!"

His eyes are hazy, like he's seeing through lenses painted with acrylics-but he *feels* everything.

The cat is fumbling around with his phone, trying to dial something with his little cat paws.

Cinderella is crying over his body, which briefly strikes him as ironic in some storybook way. 

His _persona_. He tries to say it, *call it to the heavens so all can hear his will,* but it comes as incoherent gargling.

"Senpai, please stop, you're hurting yourself!"

He realizes she's holding his arms down so he can't grab at himself. 

"Sumire," he tries to say instead. He feels a stirring inside himself, suddenly finding himself overwhelmingly grateful. He feels his entire being fill with unconditional love for a moment, then sorrow. 

Someone else is over him for a brief moment. It looks exactly like her.  


He feels a chain pull at his leg and drag him away.

\----------

His eyes open, clear, unclouded, staring at velvet ceiling. It's like he's dragging himself out of bed to go to school after a long vacation, abiding by an old habit, and he sees a child and an old man with a long nose grinning at him.

"Trickster!" Igor greets, as if he were an innocent, doddering old fool.

"This was not my intention..." Lavenza follows, a solemn expression of remorse upon her face.

"..." He struggles to find the words.

"Your name... is Ren Amamiya, yes?"

He nods, too fatigued to question why he was even asked that.

"Then... I have come to inform you your... skills are needed once again."

"I... I think I gathered that." He feels like he was just forced out of the very deepest moment of sleep, body half-paralyzed as his motor neurons try to reconnect with his brain. 

"Wait..." He tries to shake off his daze. "Hm...?" 

"Your friends have fallen to a terrible fate, opposed to what they once fought so hard for."

He stares blankly, vision out of focus. He can't bring himself to do more. He feels a weight on his face again.

"I would ask you save them once more, that the cycle of hope continue to turn."

He approaches the locked door to his cell, steadying himself on the bars.

"You are not the first guest within the Velvet Room... And we would not dishonor your hardship and strife by having you as the last. But if life continues in this world as it does now... There will not be another. Your world will fail to heal." 

"What are you saying?"

"Seek out those dearest comrades you once forged an unbreakable bond with... Reforge your connections, so that your rehabilitation was not all for naught."

"How...?" He shakes his head dismissively. "They all... They left. It's been too long. Sumire... She's the only one who stayed, and I don't want to interfere with her dream... Morgana too, of course, but where could he go anyway?" 

The child in blue sighs a deep, painful breath.

"How have you become this way?" She asks, horrified, half-hiding her face behind her book.

"I don't know what to tell you." 

He runs a finger down from his temple and down his jawline, a hand from his chin to his forehead.

Something feels wrong with his face, but his drained mind fails to place it.

"I'm 21..." He feels like he's wearing the face of someone older.

"Did you truly fight so hard just to become what you hate? Just to follow blindly after those who wrong you, a slave, unwilling to rebel?"

"...I couldn't tell you." 

"You know the answer in your heart of hearts, Trickster. Please for the sake of the love others have given to you... For the hope I have in you. Find us once more."

His dream ends.

He's in a different bed, cold and unfamiliar, with strips of fabric over his eyes. He's alone in this bed, but a soft, familiar hand is holding onto his. 

"I love you," he starts, unthinkingly. "-More than anything, anyone, ever. Unconditionally. You're the only person I've ever felt this way about. Do you know that?" He makes his best efforts to speak as clearly as possible, jaw pushing against the bandages. He feels his skin strain against him as he talks, like his body would rather he shut up. 

He feels the subtle shift in the air as his closest companion for the last 5 years leaps out of her chair to squeeze him. He feels her wet face pressed into his shoulder, muffled lips moving to repeat the honorific that seemed to have shifted into something more akin to a *pet name* over time.

"I was having a nightmare," he half-lies. "I'm sorry."

"Of course I know...!" She manages to sound both both devastatingly sad and incredibly angry. He pictures her tearful, frustrated scowl like he's seeing it with his own two eyes. He'd rather Shido win his gambit and successfully finish him off than hear-*see,* no, *imagine,* her like that again, he thinks to himself. 

Then again, that'd be breaking the promise they made.

He thinks about the last time he cried. 

"I know what I said before, but can we talk..." His voice is breaking. It feels so unlike him to himself. "...About the Phantom Thieves, again?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren Amamiya remembers his most important bond.

"JOOOKER!" 

"Ack."

Ren could feel Morgana run across Sumire's body that still clung to his chest, groaning a bit as the chatty cat leapt onto his shoulder.

"...I guess I oughtn't be surprised."

"Morgana-senpai?"

"You really think a few stories of barely-guarded hospital would stop the *original* and _last_ Phantom Thief?" He proclaimed with what Ren supposed must be the feline equivalent of a smirk, proud of the fact he seemed to have been able to eavesdrop on their moment.

"That being said, you two really should get a room if you're going to be acting like this."

"I-Just because I'm hugging him doesn't mean we were doing anything!"

"We _did_ have a room, though."

"Senpai!"

"Blah, you two make me sick with how lovey-dovey you are all the sudden! Your girlfriend leaves to go to a training camp in Europe, and not only do you not go for some reason, you mope the whole time, and when she gets back-"

" _Morgana_." Sumire gives him a death-glare.

"Eep!"

"...He's right, though." 

An image of Lavenza flashes through his mind. 

He tries to look away from her, but being blinded with bandages made that pointless, in part due to how he found himself unable to not picture her face.

"I think I was pushing you away..."

He thinks back.

\----------------

His laptop slams shut, and he throws himself backwards into the sofa.

_Cognitive psience was a lot easier to study when I could work with Futaba,_ he silently mused- train of thought slammed to a halt as he heard his door swiftly swing open.

"Welcome home." He tries to bring himself up from his seat, but he fails.

_What's wrong with me? I should be making dinner..._

"Senpai!" She smiled like a spotlight, despite his relative gloom.

"Did something good happen?"

"Yes! I was speaking with Coach Hiraguchi earlier, and-"

"That training camp...?" 

"Yes, exactly! In P-"

"Paris?"

"That's great, Sumi."

_You should be more enthusiastic, right? Shouldn't you be helping her more?_

He shook his head.

"Um... Senpai, are you alright?" Her expression turned transparently worried, tossing her gym bag aside to take a seat next to him-

He waved his hand. 

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. Have fun." 

"But... Don't you want to come with me?"

"..."

_I couldn't even keep my team together. Those bonds are broken. I'll just slow her down anyway._

"...It's alright."

"No, it isn't! What's gotten into you, Senpai? I thought you said you wanted to be with me when I-" She cuts herself off, frustrated, unable to bring herself to say what she wants to say.

"Don't waste your time on me. Just... you should go get ready." 

\-----

He shudders, and is suddenly very thankful his face isn't visible at the moment.

"I'm sorry I didn't go with you." 

"I wasn't going to go without you anyway!"

"Wh-what? But you left-"

"I was staying with Coach Hiraguchi," she cuts him off. "I told her I wouldn't go, so she used her connections to have them delay it so I could figure out how to make you feel better."

"...Why? I wanted you to go follow your dream, you told me you had this same conversation with her back when I got arrested-" 

"Stop-stop it! You already know the reason! It was _you_ who showed me how to be Sumire! If Sumire is winning, I want you there! If you want me to follow my dream so much, then you need to know I'm following it _now_! If I had left, you'd probably be _dead_ , and I-I don't know what I'd do with myself if I lost you _and_ Kasumi!"

He makes a small, disbelieving sound, a shuddering "guh," like a creaky house starting to collapse.

"You're _enough_ by yourself, Senpai! You don't need to keep carrying the world on your shoulders like this anymore! You aren't to blame for them leaving, and you need to accept I won't ever leave you like they did!"

"Sumi..." It's all he could make himself say.

He feels something in his heart stir. 

"Do... Do you understand how you make me feel, now?"

He sits up a little more in his bed, and she shifts her position, straddled across his lap as Morgana sits on the bedside table.

She holds onto one of his hands, still.

His free hand rises towards his face, trying to unravel the loose bandages around his head so he could see her face again.

He smiles, and can taste his own tears.

"Yeah." 

_I can feel it... Within me._

He wipes some of them away, but it does nothing to stop what follows.

"Senpai..."

"Gah-" He tries to hold his feelings inside, but he can't.

_I won't hide myself anymore._

"Sumire..." 

He feels a voice in his heart. 

_"My name is **Raoul** ,"_ it speaks.

He can't help himself from laughing at how strange he feels.

*"How delightful! You've awakened my true form."*

"I guess it makes sense it'd happen to me sooner or later, but I'm glad it was you."

_"Very well! Walk your chosen path without fear of mistake!"_

"Wh-what do you mean?" 

She finds herself the exact same crying mess he is.

"Don't worry about it."

" _Senpai_!" She demands, pouting.

"Just... the way you awoke to Ella, back then." He keeps trying to stifle his chuckle.

"Y-you could see that?" 

"Of course. I see... I could see everything."

He pauses for a moment, placing a hand on her cheek, pulling her face close enough for their noses to touch.

"Wh-I-what are you trying to do?" 

"Trying to hide your crush on me was especially easy to see through, you know." 

"I-well-I-why are you doing that right now..." She looks away from him, turning beet-red, and he ponders on how little she's changed since they first fell in love.

She puts her hand against his, and the way adulthood seems to have only widened their gap in size briefly strikes him.

"Can I kiss you? I know it's not our first, but..." 

"UM-!" 

He laughs, softly. He could feel the soft summer breeze blow through the nearby window that Morgana had entered through dry his tears away.

"...Take your time. I'll stay with you as long as you need." 

She lowers her gaze a bit, but he could still feel her face burn like a fireball in his hand.

"B-but I-I... told you before, after I confessed to you... I want you to be by my side, forever. I want to be the only one who has you."

He gently frees his hand from her grasp to pull her close enough to hear her heart race, taking his other hand against her cheek to tilt her gaze upwards.

He can feel her burning like the sun in his lap. He can't help but rub his nose against hers as she gasps, quietly thankful neither were wearing their glasses at the moment.

"And I told you... I'll be with you forever."

He can feel every rise and fall of her chest, her hot, quick breaths against his face. 

"I like it when you're selfish, after all..." 

....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh you know.
> 
> those last lines are a reference to an optional date after you romance her
> 
> more to come


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stage is set.

The door clicked just out of his field of vision- too focused on his lover to notice until he heard a new voice in the room.

"Wasn't expecting to see you again, guinea pig."

Ren blinked, looking upwards past his kohai in his lap, giving a "huh" of quiet dismay.

"Hey, doc. Still-" he groans overdramatically as Sumire abruptly shifts in his lap, swinging her legs around to sit next to him rather than  _ on top _ of him, staring at Tae like an uncertain rabbit. 

Wincing, he finishes his thought. "Are you still selling illegal medicine to teenagers, by any chance...? I could really do with a little painkiller if you're going to be interrupting something so nice..."

Takemi scoffed. "...You're not a teenager anymore. I wouldn't sell to you if your life depended on it. Our deal settled a long time ago, remember?"

"I'm eternally seventeen, thank you."

"Who is this?" Sumire interrupted, tremendously flustered by their intruder.

"My drug dealer."

"His former doctor," Tae corrected him, giving him a death glare. "Back when he was still acting as a Phantom Thief. Any medicine your... what, fiancé-" she questions, giving a pointed glance towards the bejeweled, heart-adorned ring around Sumire's finger, "-had given you back then, came from me."

"She knows?" Sumire gave Ren a concerned look for a moment, before whipping back around towards Takemi "F-fiancé?"

He stifles another laugh. "She's trustworthy, it's alright. I have a good sense for people-or had, at least. I fell for you, didn't I-"

"You keep doing that with me in the room and I'm going to force you to be my guinea pig again, you know?" 

He shivers, nearly gagging at the implied reminder of the 'Stomach Surströmming' incident. "Right." 

"So," she began, pulling aside a stool at the foot of the hospital bed the couple were semi-inadvertently sharing. "You're pretty lucky you aren't dead."

"If I had a hundred yen for every time someone told me that..." 

"Shut up. Anyway, one of your eyes is messed up badly. You need to keep it covered or you'll get an infection and die."

Her words hang in the air for a moment as Sumire's flustered embarrassment turns to an annoyed glare.

"You really lack in bedside manner, Takemi-san. A doctor has no right to talk to their patient like that."

" _ Former _ ," she corrects again, "I didn't give him his stitches, I just happen to be the woman that could've done so with her eyes closed if I had the chance. They  _ did _ manage to save you from a lot of the complications from your injuries thanks to one of my drugs, though, so you can thank me for that." 

"...No super-regeneration drug yet, though?" He chides good-naturedly.

"If only," Tae sighed, before giving a small chuckle. "But then I'd be out of a job. For now, you get the next best thing."

"Glad to know our deal still counts for something," he remarks, "but when exactly can I get going?"

"You could go right now, if you want, as long as you take some antibiotics regularly and don't go trying anything that would make your injuries worse. Not like we can really keep you here, since you haven't actually committed a crime. Only one you've hurt is yourself, and technically your wife, I guess." 

He sighs guiltily, but quickly readjusts. "I'm not actually married yet." 

"Y-yet?" 

"...I think I'm about to try to claw out my own eyes if you keep making me put up with the lovey-dovey stuff, now." 

\---------------

"I thought you were checking out?" 

Ren slid through the door to Tae's office within the hospital, sidling up against the doorframe, changed into a set of clothes his partner had brought from home.

"My 'wife' is calling a cab. I thought my doctor would approve of being responsible with my health and refraining from driving, considering my lack of depth perception."

"You finally got a license?"

"Something like that." 

They stare in awkward silence for a moment-Ren with one eye, the other covered by an eyepatch of gauze, and Takemi, who's gaze was starting to drift back towards her desk.

"If that's all, I have paperwork to do... I don't have the time to play with my little guinea pig anymore."

"You know, calling me that in front of people tends to give the wrong impression."

"Maybe I'm trying to embarass you."

"What ever happened to do no harm…?"

"You and I both know the answer to that question."

He rubs the back of his neck. 

_ "I need to change the topic…" _

"I'm not trying to dredge up the past. I just wanted to thank you." 

"I don't think you should be thanking me. We owe each other nothing anymore. Your medical data is thanks enough, anyway." She adds with a smirk.

"Doesn't mean we can't associate with each other."

"You want to be my test subject again?" She narrows her eyes at him, and he briefly feels caught in the gaze of a basilisk.

"N-no, thank you. Things just felt tense between us."

"The way I've heard it, things are tense between you and just about everyone, except for maybe that girl you're dating."

"'Girl?' Your age is showing. She's not much younger than you were when we first made our deal. And how do you know about that?"

"Tch… Well, not all of us can be unaging pretty-boys or athletes in perfect condition. And the younger patients at the clinic sometimes get gossipy when they're nervous, and they loved to dish on the drama surrounding the once-star teenage pupil of the Boss of Yongen-Jaya. News travels fast in a little neighborhood like that."

He sighed. "...You know she's an athlete?" 

"I'm a doctor. I have an eye for that kind of thing," she replies, tone oozing with sarcasm.

"The sports channels are unoffensive picks for the presets on 'Hospital TV.' She seems to know how to give a good podium speech, mm? Sounds like she's aiming for the next Olympics… And it seems you're at least partially to blame for that, since she thanked you by name, right next to her dad and late sister." 

"Well, I was a renowned stealer of hearts, once upon a time."

"Seems like you're still trying to do that. I can't help but wonder if you're back to your old tricks."

"Nah, I'd never… And you flatter me, but I'm taken, remember? There's only one heart I have my eyes on." 

_ "Snrk." _

Ren cracks a small smile-pleased with himself.

_ "Seems the operation was successful," _ he muses.

"I'm not going to be asking you for any under-the-table medicine again-not anytime soon, anyway- but I'd just like to say we're friends again. I have some things -people- I need to take care of, and you're on that list." 

The words hang for a moment.

"...And that you won't quietly dose me with some illicit substance that turns my insides into slime if I get hospitalized again?" He offers, trying to break the tension.

"Heh. My guinea pig really hasn't changed at all, has he? Well, suit yourself. I don't have anything to lose by agreeing- except for my right to use you as a testing ground for my experimental bacteria, but I have plenty of patients for that now that I'm helping out at a real hospital, thanks to what you did."

"...I'm glad to hear that. I'll be seeing you." He can't help but smirk a bit as he feels something in his heart stir -not romantically, of course- but like he had become more whole- like a chain linking itself once more. It felt welcome- a part of him returning. The words of the Twins-  _ his bonds being a part of his power- _ ring in his mind. 

He shakes his head, lost in thought.

"Please, don't." Tas interrupts. "I don't want to have to deal with your girlfriend again. She looks like she would and could try to throttle me if I keep teasing you."

"That's why I love her. You're a scary lady, Tae." 

" _ Pfft _ . You always kept interesting company."

"I had a good sense for people."

He could only hope that sense that served him so well before might regain its strength by the next step of his plan. 

\-------

Ren's mind worked out his plan to the rhythm of the  _ clunk-clunk-ding _ of the elevator- his sessions of meditation seem to still have an effect on his heart, allowing him to drown out the uncomfortable packing of people into the little crate. 

  
  


He allows the thought of how enjoyable it'd be to tease Sumire if she were there with him to pass through his mind, then makes himself shrug it off.  _ Plenty of time for that later,  _ he figures. 

Their words were brief, but he could feel a connection with the Doctor- what he had once was restored, at least as much as it needed to be. He could  _ feel  _ it, somehow. Yet when he thought more of his bonds- which he had started to picture as a deck of Tarot cards, thanks to Chihaya's past influence- he couldn't feel anything there. When he cleared his mind, read between the lines, saw the world not as Ren Amamiya, but as Joker- he could feel the hearts he'd touched. 

He could feel Morgana- "the Magician," as Chihaya would unknowingly refer to him as. But what troubled him was that he  _ felt  _ for Sumire- for Faith- pulled on the chain, so to speak, he felt nearly nothing at all.

_ What…? _

_ That couldn't be right.  _ When he looked in her eyes, he knew what he saw- he saw love, unmistakably. It was the same way he saw  _ her. _ Yet he couldn't feel what he should feel when he was away from her.

It almost reminded him of the same strange feeling he felt when she lived not as Sumire, but as Kasumi- before she opened her heart, allowed herself to be true.

_ But then… _

He felt an unwelcome pang of fear down his spine, a cold bead of sweat down his chin- the feelings he felt when Arsene reached out to him for the first time, or when he had the dream of the butterfly on New Year's Day. 

_ Something is wrong. _

_ Why is Lavenza trying to reach out to me?  _

_ Why can I still feel my Persona?  _

_ Why can't I feel as close to Sumire anymore? _

He felt a surge of nausea and claustrophobia, which he was rescued from by the opening of the elevator doors. He took a few hurried steps out of the elevator, rushing out towards the exit, into the summer air.

_ Where's Morgana? Where's Sumire?  _

"Senpai!"

"Joker!"

He passed a brief sigh of relief at the sound of their voices, especially  _ her  _ voice- a sigh which caught in his throat as he remembered the  _ sensation _ of Sumire in his heart.

He heard her footsteps against the concrete, felt the excited glee in her footfalls, but his eyes remained focused on the ground.

She stepped next to him, reaching up to grab his bicep.

"Are you okay, Senpai?"

Her pull had a bit of extra weight to it-Morgana was perched on her shoulder. 

He looked to her, blinking, grabbing her hand and looking into her eyes like he was trying to see her soul.

"Um-?"

She was blushing- despite being together for years, she still always seemed to be nervous -happy, excited nervous, like they were still crushing on each other in high school- when he touched her. 

Yet, the doubt remained in his mind. He could feel that something was wrong in her heart.

"...Don't you want to go? I called the cab…"

He nodded, and smiled wondering if she could feel the sadness behind it. 

\---------------------

"You look like there's something worrying you…" Sumire piped up, transparently worried, having been staring at Ren's face as he pieced out his thoughts for the last several minutes, as if trying to read his mind.

"I have to agree," Morgana concurred from the bag at Ren's feet. "That's not like you. You should tell us what's on your mind!"

He leaned back from his slouched position, his hands once together into a single two-handed 'fist' under his chin spread apart in his lap.

"...I was thinking about your gymnastics meet," he began, carefully formulating his words as he spoke. "The overseas one that Hiraguchi let you out of."

"I don't want to go." She firmly states, trying to preempt any attempt to dissuade her otherwise.

"I want to go." 

"I told you already I won't leave you like this, Senpai- wait,  _ what _ ?" 

"I want to go with you," he reiterates. "To Paris, right?"

"Wh-you should be resting right now! You've taken care of me when I've gotten hurt, so now-"

He reached out towards her, gently taking her hand in both of his- how tall had he grown since high school?- and looked her in the eyes, leaning close.

_ With my overflowing charm... _

"I  _ want  _ to go, though. And I want to go with  _ you _ , more than that. I want to be with you somewhere special like that."

"Wh-!!"

He could feel the heat of her flush in her face from inches away, the sudden sweat of her palms in his hands.

_ Now, you're mine.  _

He drew a little closer, dropping his voice near a whisper, fluttering his long eyelashes.

"If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. Deal,  _ kohai _ ?" 

"Ah-er... Um!" She leans back as he draws closer, but his hands remain around hers.

"You wouldn't make me beg, would you?" 

"W-well… If you're really sure…" 

"Of course I'm sure. I lo-"

"AAAUGH! Get a  _ room _ already!" Morgana let out a muffled yowl from within Ren's leather bag. 

Ren gave a heavy sigh that covered a laugh, leaning backwards and releasing his gentle grasp. "We have a room, though. We have this conversation all the time..." 

"Exactly! Why do you think I want  _ sound-proofing _ for my room?!" 

"You don't even pay rent." 

The taxi driver coughed nervously, wondering if they're due for a retirement already after having to put up with these overbearing newlyweds and their loud pet they somehow brought to a hospital.

\-------------------

The days that follow were a blur of packing and phone calls, arranging for the ambitious young gymnast and her guest to arrive at what Ren figured must be the most spectacular gymnastics meet in history, if Hiraguchi was putting up this much of a fuss with their waffling. Nevertheless, within a few days and a few favors called in, the pair were on an international flight to France (with Morgana reluctantly cramming himself into a crate), alongside the hundreds of other tourists that had the same idea for spending their summer.

Ren briefly pondered what the effects of jetlag might be on memory as he stumbled into his shared room with Sumire and Morgana, within some remarkably high-class hotel that seems to have been booked out just for the attendants of the weeks-long meet. In the morning, they were to head to some manner of stadium, meet with Coach Hiraguchi, and get on with the gymnastics- Ren's only involvement would be moral support, which was a task he felt confident enough in, figuring he might be able to figure it out after guiding Futaba in her efforts so many years ago.

He almost found himself surprised when Sumire's jet lag overcame her voracious appetite, but soon found himself empathizing with her situation when he settled in next to her and was promptly out without any prompting from his living, black and white reverse-alarm clock.

Of course, that meant the following morning, he was awoken to the sound of vibrations rattling in his chest-which sometimes meant Morgana had a good dream, something which had become far more common ever since Morgana had accepted his true self, but was, in fact, the sound of Sumire's empty stomach.

He only processed this after he spent far too long absentmindedly admiring her jet-lagged, sleepy-eyed visage, with her long, silky hair down her shoulders like a waterfall of rose petals-a look he so loved admiring, especially since he tended to only see it when they were  _ alone _ \- dressed in loose, baggy pajamas, fumbling for her glasses on the nightstand- 

"Hey!" Morgana shouted, hopping onto his shirtless chest. "You need to make breakfast and go, already!"

"This isn't the wake-up call I asked for…" He muttered.

"Stop messing around, we missed the hotel breakfast and we're going to be late to an event we've already missed a few days of!"

"...A house-boyfriend's work is never done," he muttered again, tossing aside the sheet that half-covered the toned body that he had only refined further over time practicing and supporting Sumire in the past, briefly stretching out his arms and back, rolling his shoulders and neck as he rose to familiarize himself with the kitchen within their hotel room.

He felt a small blast of chilly air as he swung open the fridge, finding it surprisingly pre-stocked.

_ "Maybe Hiraguchi gave the staff special orders in anticipation for something like this," _ he pondered to himself, retrieving a carton of eggs and a variety of meat and vegetables from the fridge before some further searching revealed a bag of rice and various dry seasonings.

A brief time later, he had settled on his dish for the morning and prepared it- a spin on omelette rice, a recipe he found inspiration in during his reluctantly-spent time at the Maid Cafe in Akihabara. Over time, he had modified the meal for perfect nutritional balance in a meticulously formulated blend of meat, vegetables, and carbs needed in a gymnast's diet and in accordance with her own personal tastes, and with an extra-large portion just for her- and dished out their breakfast at the dining table as Sumire finished her own morning routine.

"Ah, your cooking looks wonderful, as always!" She exclaims, settling into her seat with a smile- a smile that quickly turned downcast and frail, like an uncomfortably hot breeze that withered away before one could even pretend it was as enjoyable as any other.

"Honestly, looking back, your cooking is so much better than mine…"

He looked at her quizzically, surprised by the sudden apparent  _ guilt _ in her tone.

"...I love your cooking," he replies. "I just want to cook for you, too."

Sumire became a much better cook when she wasn't trying to be Kasumi, he found out some time ago. 

"W-well, sure, but…" 

He looked at her, frowning. 

_ What's gotten into her? _

"You can rely on me if you want to talk, you know." 

"N-no! I'm just…" She paused for a long time, mindlessly chewing on a piece of her breakfast like one idly chews gum to think without any regard for flavor or texture.

"...I lost my favorite good luck charm. I couldn't find it anywhere while we were packing... The one I bought in Hawaii that you returned to me that day in Odaiba. When I awakened to my Persona… Please don't be mad."

_ But could that really be all?  _ He wanted to believe it ended at that, he  _ could  _ believe it with everything that's happened, that  _ he  _ blamed himself for, and he knew she took her luck 'rituals' seriously-  _ especially _ before something like this, yet something in him wouldn't let him swallow it all the way.  _ What was bothering her had to run deeper.  _

"Of course I'm not mad," he replies, trying to make his tone as low and soothing as possible. 

"I wouldn't get mad with you- and you don't have to go today. I just wanted to go to Paris with my lover, honestly. I can talk to Hiraguchi, tell her to wait a little longer-"

"Please,  _ don't _ !" She interjected with a shout that almost made Ren jump in its franticness. 

"It's just… You're doing enough, so don't worry about me, okay?" She looks up at him, earnesty in her eyes, tone almost pleading with him to not look any deeper.

He relented.

"...If that's what you want." 

She looked away from him, an inexplicable expression of shame on her face, with the shift of her gaze seemingly trying to play it off as just trying to focus on her meal.

He looked to Morgana, and he looked back at him, an expression of worry in his feline features to match his.

"Go eat," Morgana whispered. "Let's save this talk for later, okay?" 

By the time both were ready to head out, the strange tenseness in the air seemed to have eased- yet remained  _ present  _ in some subtle way, like it was caught deep in their lungs, clung deep in their chests and made it impossible to dispel without spoiling the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the pair with Morgana in tow walked onwards towards the stadium, hands strangely bound together as if not out of closeness, but out of some arbitrary need to affirm their closeness.

They could spot the older, yet fit looking woman in a blue tank-top from a ways away, waving them closer in a warm gesture of welcome.

"Good to see you made it!" She called, shouting out to them.

Ren gave a low, casual wave in response, with Sumire giving a higher, more enthusiastic wave in kind, yet it seemed stilted, unnatural- as if her arm were weighed down by heavy stones. __

"Well then," she began, looking them over. "You don't look much the worse for wear for a man who was in the hospital not more than a week ago."

"Looks can be deceiving," he replied, tapping the single blacked-out lens of his false glasses. 

Meanwhile, Sumire gave a short, polite bow, releasing Ren's hand.

"I'm ready to start training, ma'am."

She nodded to Ren, then turned to Sumire.

"You're eager today." 

"I want to make up for all the time I've missed!"

"That's good to hear, because we're going to need to be tough and fast if we want to make use of our time here." She glanced towards Ren.

"I'm going to talk to Sumire in private for a bit. Come back in about an hour."

Ren nodded -grimly, he realized- as the two walked away, feeling strangely cold despite the summer air, before a rustling and a pair of paws pressing into his shoulder shook him from his funk.

"Let's take a walk around. I think we both know something's wrong with Sumire, right?"

He nodded, curt, again. His tongue felt heavy.

As they -or rather, Ren- walked in silence through the morning streets of Paris, they found themselves in a square of sorts, observing the people making their morning commute in a way that reminded him of the way people flooded the trains in Shibuya in the morning.  _ One of Yusuke's favorite pastimes,  _ he registered.

"What do you think could be wrong with her?" Morgana broached after a brief, uncomfortable silence.

"I haven't seen her like this since your third semester at Shujin, all those years ago… Even when you two were fighting a while ago, she never shut you out like this. Actually, that was all on your end."

"Hm," he grunted, looking up into the sky, his hands jammed into his pockets. He  _ still _ couldn't shake the feeling of dread.

"Er-I mean, I know you made up and apologized, a-and you blame yourself, and you never did anything that would hurt her other than suffer alone and bottle everything up, but still…" Morgana made a loud, forced, and incredibly awkward cough.

"Ah-ahem! Excuse me… Do you think she's having doubts about herself again? About Kasumi?"

"She sounded like it," he replied, unable to ignore how strangely melancholy yet  _ frustrated _ and  _ tense _ he felt in his heart. He thought he was done feeling like this. 

"Then… What should we do? Maybe we shouldn't have come here after all…"

Both suddenly tensed as the white noise around them suddenly changed,  _ broke, _ like a sheet of glass shattering beneath his feet.

"Attention," a familiar young man's voice spoke, filtered through the static of the televisions and radios that surrounded the square, but loud enough to boom over any surrounding noise.

Every television he could see, from giant overhead screen to tiny mounted screen in distant coffee shop, changed to depict a black logo of a birdlike mask, over a red background.

"You may call me the Phantom Thief of… Justice. I come bearing a very special message for one particular man… A man who called himself a Phantom Thief of Hearts, once upon a time."

He felt his heart plunge into his stomach, a sudden tension then release in every joint in his body that made him want to draw rigid then collapse.

"I have come to issue that man a challenge," the broadcast continued, his tone so condescending it might crush you beneath its high horse.

"I heard that there's a very special Palace forming in Paris. I want you to infiltrate it. And if you cannot steal the owner's treasure in the allotted time…"

A timer appeared below the logo on screen. A matter of weeks that would rapidly dwindle down to mere days.

"..Well, I'll do  _ more _ than just steal her heart. I might even do the same to even more people than just  _ her _ , just to ensure the stakes are high enough. You know what I mean, don't you…? Think back to those first incidents in Shibuya- no, better yet, remember Kunikazu Okumura."

A shaky image of the broadcast of Okumura's death appeared on screen, grabbed just before the signal was cut. A thick, viscous flow of black bile and blood flowed from his gaping, coated mouth and white, lifeless eyes, making the Thief of Justice's message all too clear. The crowd around them made a collective cry of disgust, shock, and fear. 

"...Even worse, I'll reveal that you were a weakling all along, unable to  _ keep _ any claim to power you once had. Make no mistake: I'll reveal your true identity to  _ everyone _ if you fail. You  _ are  _ old news, of course, but I can name a few people off the top of my head who would love to use info like that to settle accounts, along with the natural punishment of someone like you knowing they have innocent blood on their hands. Furthermore, I intend on making this  _ far more difficult  _ than any of your previous missions, and everything you hold dear will be on the line in the coming days. Of course, the goal of this game is not to ruin your identity or kill your closest partner- she was my 'teammate' once upon a time, too, so I will keep my word and stick to the promised time out of respect for you both. Believe it or not, I  _ want  _ you to win this time. You'll learn the rest of the rules by yourself easily enough. You're clever."

"Damn him!" 

"Goodbye, _Joker-_ Mona, too, if you kept that mangy, leg-humping furball around after all this time. Good luck… But if luck is all that's been seeing you forward, then I'll be sorely disappointed in you. Expect to hear from me again."

In a crackle of static and flash of the logo, the broadcast cut, and the electronics around them returned to normal.

He heard Morgana swallow like he was gulping down a stone.

"That must've been Akechi, right?! How is that even possible? We stopped Maruki's plan! He's  _ dead!" _ Morgana yelled again, shouting over the sudden clamor of confused voices surrounding them.

_ What he saw that day when he left Tokyo, outside the train window, his eyes weren't playing tricks on him,  _ he realized _. _

_ The Metaverse was still out there. His rebellious will remained within him.  _

_ And Goro Akechi was still alive. _

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I had to rewrite this chapter multiple times, and I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it, but I made this chapter longer than the last two to hopefully make up for the amount of time it took to release. Thank you for your time, and your patience! I really appreciate all the feedback.
> 
> edit: holy shit has it really been almost a month since i updated this? im so fucking sorry


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once a thief...

Ren stumbled backwards, almost falling over, feeling the ground slipping somehow beneath him, like a rug was literally pulled out from under him.

"WHOA- Hey, get it together, you're gonna crush me!" Morgana yelped from over his shoulder, but he felt distant, hollow. His weight collided into a streetlamp, balancing himself against it as his stomach churned.

"Just calm down, okay?! We can't act like we've lost already! Listen to me!" 

He put his hand over his face, trying to block out the world.

"We need to find Sumire! She might be in danger! You heard what he said, right? He's threatening a mental shutdown if we can't find a way into her Palace! We don't have time to wait around, especially with just two of us!"

He could feel the sweat on his brow.  _ Why am I so afraid all the sudden? _

_ When did I get so soft for her…? _

"I know you're upset, but Joker, please-!" 

_ I just can't take the thought of her in danger. I can't take the thought of someone doing that… _

He realized the thought of Sumire like  _ that- _ devoid of life, that horrible black fluid spilling from her face like an oozing wound- that was what was making him feel like throwing up in the street.

"JOKER!" 

"...I hear you," he grumbled, feeling like the air on his throat was just short of triggering his gag reflex. 

"We have to win this! I don't know why he's doing this after all this time, but all that matters is you protect Sumire! That's your duty as a gentleman- a Phantom Thief!"

"I haven't been a Phantom Thief in  _ years…  _ Even calling me by my codename all this time doesn't change that. Why do you even do that…?" 

"Because you're still  _ my  _ leader… And as much as I hate to admit it, because I always looked up to you! Even if everyone else left, I'd still have your back. We've killed gods worse than this, I know we can do it if we work together!" 

He shook his head, still unable to accept the words- but he did accept one thing.

"We need to go find Sumire."

He found himself running, sprinting down the streets and weaving in between the dispersing crowds of people, wishing he had his grappling hook.

"Left- no, straight ahead! It's right there, come on!" Morgana directed, giving him navigation for the first time since the Castle.

Some form of security stopped him at the entrance.

"I need to see your ID," they ordered, a hint of a French accent beneath their stilted Japanese.

He fished his walled out of his pocket, showing the guard the ID slotted into it.

"...You are?" 

"Sumire Yoshizawa's boyfriend," he forced out, gasping his words. "I need to see her, let me through-"

"Prove it."

"Call Coach Hiraguchi!"

"Why don't you?"

Ren made a sound like a growl as he dialed the number.

"Hiraguchi speaking. Who's this?"

"It's Ren, I need to see Sumire-"

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" He cut him off in moments, her tone furious and impatient. "A stalker? I don't know who you are, and I highly doubt my student does either. Don't call me again." The call abruptly ended. 

" _ What _ ?" 

"You should leave already," the guard replied in an annoyed, guttural voice, putting his hand firmly on Ren's shoulder.

"Let me see her!"

"Joker, you're gonna get in trouble if you keep pushing-" 

He barely caught a glimpse of the familiar red ponytail swishing in the distance, next to Hiraguchi, who was just putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Sorry, spam. Go on." 

The red-haired girl nodded, almost dejectedly. "This place…" She spoke, oblivious to his presence. "I don't know. You said I would transform into the belle of the ball here, but no matter how hard I try, I'm nothing compared to how I was before my slump…"

"SUMIRE!"

He called out to her, desperately hoping to make this right.

Sumire whipped around and scowled at him like she was trying to kill him with a look. 

He felt his resolve suddenly melt as the guard shoved him away, sending him crumpling to the ground.

"Get lost. Don't come back," the guard threatened.

_ What? _

"Sumire," he tried to call again, but his voice suddenly felt hoarse and lifeless.

"Joker, come on, we need a better way!"

"Sumire…"

"JOKER!"

He felt his vision blur, and for a moment, inbetween the blinks of his eyes, he swore he could see a crystal butterfly.

_ "The future you fought so hard for has been stolen… But if you still hold fast to your will, there may yet remain hope for the rehabilitation of this world…" _

He shook his head, squeezed his eyes shut, tried to block it out, like not seeing it would make it better.

"Get up, he's gonna call the cops on us! Come on!"

Not knowing what else to do, he ran.

\-------------------

"...I think we've lost him. You can stop running now."

He slowly came to a stop, feeling like his legs were full of sand. He bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Why did she act like that? She couldn't be  _ that  _ mad at you, right? She wouldn't act like you're dead to her…!"

His mind raced, searching for an answer.

"We need to find out the rules of this game," he asserted between tired, ragged breaths.

"You're right. But how? Sumire totally gave us the cold shoulder-! Wait, could Akechi have…"

Morgana goes silent, deep in thought.

"...He might have changed cognition," Ren supplied. "If everyone believes one thing, it'd be no different than changing reality."

"Wait,  _ what _ ?! How!? He doesn't have the power of Actualization, does he?"

"Probably not… But anything's possible." 

Morgana stared down at the ground, puzzling over his words.

"It'd make sense. He said this was going to be a lot harder… I guess it'd be a lot easier to change the heart of someone who trusts you, logistically speaking, right? Like how Futaba just gave us her keywords..." 

Ren nodded.

"So… She doesn't know us anymore. Like we never existed…" Morgana paused, thinking. 

"That means she- you just called her by the name of the girl she's convinced herself is her dead sister! If she doesn't know you, that must mean everything you've done has been  _ undone _ ! She's Kasumi again!"

"We need to find her keywords," he replied again- trying not to think too hard on Morgana's words, too overwhelmed to think beyond the here and now.

"You're right. But... we don't have any leads, and we can't get closer to Sumire to investigate with her cognition all twisted like this… I hate to say it, but we might need to try just observing her to get a hint." 

"...If we go back now, that guard will try to arrest me. He might have even reported me to all the security in that area…" 

"Crap! Then… We're going to need to wait til tomorrow for the heat to die down, then try to sneak in ourselves." 

He groaned in intense frustration, digging his nails into legs.

"Hey, I don't like it either! But if it's what it takes as a Phantom Thief, then that's what we'll do, okay?"

He knew he was right, but it didn't make it feel any better.

Meanwhile, 'Kasumi' Yoshizawa returned to her hotel room that night.

She settled in with a sigh, tossing aside her gym bag and moving to change into something a little more comfortable.

As she searched through her bag of clothes, she found a pair of oddly comfortable-feeling pajamas that she couldn't help but feel didn't belong to her. 

A long-sleeved black shirt, so baggy on her that the sleeves covered her hands by a significant margin, and green sweatpants with pant legs that dragged behind her and made it impossible to wear any slippers with it.

She felt both oddly comfortable wearing it-  _ comforted,  _ even. She put the collar of the shirt over her nose and breathed in- the scent of it was so familiar, like the smell of coming home after a long day- like freshly roasted coffee. She hugged herself, and realized wearing it felt like a loving, warm embrace, like someone she trusted more than anyone in the world keeping her securely in his arms at her most vulnerable, safe and protected, whispering in her ear how important she was to him. 

She fell asleep that night with the feeling that something incredibly important was missing from her life.

\-------------

"We can't go back to that hotel," Morgana said. "The doorman wouldn't let us in, even if we had the key. On top of that, we'd really scare Sumire." 

He nodded, "hm"-ing in response.

"We'll just have to check in somewhere cheaper for the night… Hey, how much money do you have on you?"

That night, Ren couldn't fall asleep fast enough.

\---------------

She woke up dreaming about the man she saw just outside the stadium. At the time, she had to fight the instinct not to try to  _ punch his lights out _ for mentioning Sumire, but she found the longer she thought about him, the stronger the butterflies in her stomach were. 

_ Why can't I stop thinking about him? _

_ Why did he look so familiar? _

Around the corner, Ren stood, a hood tossed over his head, beneath a blazer. Not the first time he'd taken the look.

"This feels so sketchy," he murmured.

"I know, but we don't have a choice. You want to save her, don't you?" 

"More than anything," he murmured back again, stepping away from the corner to continue following Yoshizawa.

"Where do you think she's going?" Morgana wondered aloud. "The stadium isn't that way."

"Meeting someone, maybe?"

"Not a date, right…?"

"Don't joke about that." 

A few minutes of walking later, Sumire walked into a cafe, and after waiting a short while, Ren and Morgana followed. 

He listened carefully for her voice, mentally keeping track of its source and seating himself across the room from it. 

"We couldn't do this while you trained?" Hiraguchi's voice.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright then," Hiraguchi smiled a bit, judging from her voice. "What's wrong, S-"

"It's that man," she cut in.

"...This is about a boy?"

"N-no. It's more like…"

"Wait, you aren't being stalked, are you? Somebody called me yesterday asking about you-" Hiraguchi stood up, suspiciously glancing around. Ren pulled his hood down a bit further, ensuring his back was to the gymnasts. 

"Please calm down! It's not like that at all. The man at the gate just reminded me of something."

Morgana perked up in his bag, poking his head out to speak. "This could be what we need. Let's listen closely."

"To be honest, ma'am... I'm not sure I can do this."

"You said that before we came here, too."

"I said it because it's true. I just… I can't match who I was back before my slump. I'll never be as good as sh-as I was." 

Hiraguchi shook her head, exhaling through her nose.

"I can't deny your results have been rough… Losing your scholarship at Shujin was a serious blow."

"Wait, she ended up losing her scholarship in this version of reality?" Morgana murmured, surprised. "Does that mean if you never tried to get close to her, she…?"

Ren looked down at the ground, thoughtful, before looking back up. 

"Think about it later." 

The other two continued talking.

"...But just because you've been doing poorly lately doesn't mean you can't change."

"But  _ how?  _ I've been trying for so long… I'm exhausted. I can barely take it anymore…. Sometimes, I wonder if the Phantom Thieves were right all along. If they had stolen my heart, then maybe…"

Morgana grimaced. "Could she have formed a Palace if she had never awakened her Persona…?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Yoshizawa," Hiraguchi replied, hesitance in her tone. "You're the only one who can make this decision."

"You don't get it!" She snapped back, slamming her hand against the table, a terrifying fire forming in her eyes. "I'm getting humiliated! Everyone out there is so much better than me… I'll never achieve Kasumi's dream like this! I have to be better! It's like I've shown up to a ball dance dressed in sooty rags!"

Ren blinked back something in his eye.

"You don't get to talk to me like that,  _ Sumire _ . I've put everything I have into training you. The only one stopping you now is  _ you _ ."

Sumire grit her teeth like she was baring fangs, hands balled into pale fists.

"That can't be true! It's not my fault! The only one to blame is Sumire for dragging me down…!" 

Hiraguchi huffed. "Keep telling yourself like that. Come to practice if you feel like it. I'm leaving."

"Come back…!" She cried, uselessly, as Hiraguchi sidestepped her and stormed out of the café.

As Hiraguchi disappeared out of the window, Sumire slammed another fist on the table, burying her face in her arms against the table and releasing a choked, wailing sob as tears pooled on the table beneath her.

"Do you have an idea for her keywords?" Morgana asked, a pained look on his face. "I think I can see exactly why her Palace formed, now. She's been in so much pain living like this. It only makes me more thankful we rejected Maruki's offer..."

"...I think so," Ren replied, his voice strained.

"Then let's get going. I don't like to see this any more than you do…"

As Ren got up to leave, his legs almost locked up as he stepped behind his lover.

He raised a hand, nervous, reaching towards her.

"Don't," Morgana interrupted, voice a harsh whisper. "She doesn't know you in this reality. It won't help."

He ignored him, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll get better," Ren whispered to her, gentle and calm. "I promise you. I'll make this right, no matter what it takes." His mouth forms the words to whisper 'I love you,' but he falters.

He was surprised when she didn't tense, and her sobs seemed to stop for a brief moment. He could feel her start to sluggishly lift herself up to turn around.

He disappeared before she could see his face, and he didn't let himself look back.

\---------------

"Kasumi Yoshizawa," he spoke experimentally into the newly reappeared Metaverse Navigator app on his phone.

"No candidates found," it replied in a monotone, robotic drone.

"Sumire Yoshizawa," he states, more confidently.

"Candidate found."

"Parc de Princess."

"Candidate found."

"Now all that's left is the distortion…" Morgana remarked, hopeful. "Did you figure anything out?"

"Something she said before…"

_ "You said I would transform into the belle of the ball here, but no matter how hard I try, I'm nothing compared to how I was before my slump…" _

_ "It's like I've shown up to a ball dance dressed in sooty rags!" _

"...Where does ballroom dancing usually happen?"

"That's easy! A stage!"

"No candidates found."

"What?! Then… A ball, of course!

"That's an event, not a place." 

"You do it, then!"

"How about a mansion?"

"Candidate found. Beginning navigation."

Morgana grimaced.

"Seriously…? First try…?"

The world went black and red.

He blinked like he was trying to get water out of his eyes, and when his vision cleared he found himself at the gates of a massive, grand Manor beneath a midnight blue sky and great yellow crescent moon. The gates were dark metal inlaid with blue jewels, that led to a long stone path towards a stately, Baroque-style mansion made of marble and gold with a massive clock tower rising from the furthest wing. Around it burst massive fireworks like second moons that bloomed into the sillhouette-shapes of acrobats and gymnasts, illuminating the vast grounds around the manor- including a hedge maze that seemed to surround the Palace like a moat.

"This place…" Morgana began. "She really must think of it as her last hope to shine and make her distorted dream come true."

As Ren opened his mouth to answer, he suddenly felt different- a new layer on his skin. His clothes had changed, and a mask had appeared over his face.

"Hey, your clothes changed!" Morgana commented, gesturing towards him. "It's about time you got your best look back- hey, actually, it seems your mask is a little different. It's missing an eyehole now. I guess because you can't exactly use that eye right now."

He felt for his mask. The black around the eyes of his mask seem to have 'filled in' the hole.

He smiled, looking back at Morgana.

"Not so bad yourself." 

"Huh? Oh!" Morgana waved the stubby arms of his Metaverse form in front of his face. "You're right! Did you miss my dashing looks?"

"Sure did."

Morgana made a sound like a purr, and they were off.

"So how about you try out your old grappling hook and try throwing it over the gate?"

He nodded, rolling his shoulders.

"Easy." 

He flicked his wrist towards the top of the gate and a rope-claw extended outwards, latching onto the top of the gate. With a satisfied smirk, he yanks back on the rope, propelling himself up and over, with Morgana grabbing his leg just before he went over.

"Masterfully done as always, Joker! I'm glad your muscle memory is still intact." 

"That was the easy part," he replied, dusting himself off and looking up towards the mansion. "I don't think the guards are going to let us through." He points to a pair of shadows a ways down the stone path, dressed in butler uniforms and masquerade masks, with glowing blue eyes.

"Right. That's no good for an infiltration route. That means…" He looks towards the massive walls of hedges around them.

"There might be a staff entrance for those who maintain the hedges somewhere through there…" Ren commented.

"Good thinking! Let's see if we can find a worker in there, then."

As the two thieves began to explore the maze, it was only natural they'd sense Shadows patrolling.

"Psst, Joker! Some powerful looking enemies ahead. What do you want to do?" 

He looked around, then suddenly groaned as a headache overcome him, putting his hand on his forehead.

"I feel weak. My Persona doesn't feel right."

"I'll watch your back!"

He smiled a bit, nodding thankfully.

"Okay. Let's go."

\----------

Joker, strangely, found unable to call the name of his Persona. All he felt was a mirage, a phantom- there, yet not there. A mere whisper of power. Nevertheless, with Morgana's support, they managed to overtake a lone Shadow that they managed to  _ persuade  _ into leading them through the maze.

\----------

"You'll never get away with this. Princess Yoshizawa won't let you ruin her ball…" It spoke in a snivelling voice, filled with equal contempt and fear as it stood next to the side entrance they asked for, cringing.

"Do the honors, Mona."

A swift _ thwipthwipthwip _ from his slingshot, and the already weakened Shadow was dispatched. 

"...Seems we made it." 

Joker looked up towards the sky, almost feeling a pang of vertigo at the sheer size of the Palace. There was no way his grappling hook would reach that far.

"...Ooh!" Morgana interjected. "Look what it had on it!"

In his paws, Morgana held a small, bejeweled key. From what he could gather with what French he could understand, it read 'SERVANT ENTRANCE.' 

"Meow-hoh! Let's open it up that side door, shall we?"

Slipping through the door revealed a cramped stone passage, seemingly for maids and laborers to pass through the mansion unnoticed.

"This is purrfect for us!" 

"You seem to be talking like a cat more recently, you know."

"Cats can't talk! How would I do that?" 

"You talk."

He groaned. "You know what I mean!"

They continued to slip silently through the passageway, small puffs of dust falling overhead as footsteps seemed to stomp and sounds of merriment and music were made within the mansion.

Eventually, what they found at the end was a wooden panel with a flow of air coming through it- a bookcase on a sliding mechanism, they found, after experimenting with a loose stone in the wall.

"Ah, fresh air!" Morgana sighed happily, stepping out of the tiny hall that required them to shimmy side-by-side.

They found themselves in a cellar of sorts, filled with the scent of aging wine and decaying wood.

"If you like intense must."

"Er… It's fresher than in there, anyway. Let's get up to the ground floor!"

Quietly creeping up a set of creaky wooden stairs, they emerged in a royal-looking entrance hall- a chandelier overhead cast a soft blue light over their surroundings of marble floors, gold and silver furniture, and masked cognitive figured he didn't recognize, dancing and making merry all around them, oblivious to their presence. At the far side was a massive set of mahogany doors that more strongly resembled a gate in a wall than a proper entrance, inlaid with an engraving of a pair of women in leotards in profile- one with her hair in a bun wearing a fancy leotard that resembled a dress, smiling photogenically as she balanced herself on a beam with one leg, the tip of a sword balanced on her fingertip and the end of a lever-action rifle balanced on her toes, in a sort of flamingo pose. The metal bar that gave the illusion of a balance beam 'stretched' across to the other side-or rather, the other door just had a similar design- showing a similar looking woman with long hair and glasses, and a dirty, tattered-looking leotard, a sad, fearful grimace on her face as she seems to wobble and lose her balance, the props the ponytail girl was holding in the other inlay seeming to fall from the long-haired girl's grasp.

"It's so obvious, it makes me feel even more bad for her…" Morgana muttered. "People really treated her like this?"

"She feels so inferior to her sister, it's killing her," he replied. "Her shame has only gotten more intense over the years, so that feeling's even worse now." 

"You're taking it better than I thought."

"I'm planning on breaking it soon," he smirked, cracking his neck.

" _ That's _ what I like to hear from my leader! Let's steal that treasure and change her heart already!"

_ "What was that?"  _ From the top of a twin set of curving marble staircases that led further into the mansion, the voice of a young woman called.

"Hahaha… How unbecoming of my sister's Senpai, showing up without an invite to ruin her party. I thought you were supposed to be supporting her?"

The thieves wheeled around to face the opposite direction of the door, spying the source of the voice. 

A girl with a beauty mark beneath her left eye, and brown hair bound in a bun, wearing an ornate black leotard that resembled a dress- identical to the one in the engraved mural on the door, and a pair of blue slippers that seemed to sparkle. In her right hand, she held a long, silver rapier that she held slightly raised at her side, as if preventing someone from passing her.

"Is that Sumire's shadow?" Mona asked, voice hard and determined.

"No…" Joker corrected, looking at her eyes that matcher her hair. "Her sister. The actual Kasumi Yoshizawa- the cognitive version, anyway."

"Then…" 

From her shadow stepped a red-haired girl with her hair down and wearing a pair of glasses, clad in a tattered, sooty dress. The sword Kasumi wielded remained in front of her, preventing her from coming any closer.

Her eyes were a bright yellow that glowed like stars in the soft light.

"Sumire…" Joker whispered, almost pained.

The shadow of Sumire nervously glanced away, shame clear in her expression.

"Could it be that she still subconsciously remembers you, so that's why they recognize you...?" 

" _ Senpai… _ " Kasumi taunted in a teasing tone, "if you want to help her, you should just allow her to accept she'll never be better than  _ me _ !"

"That's not true," he replies, shaking his head. "You're just a warped memory covering up reality. A  _ distortion.  _ You're not the first I've seen." 

She gritted her teeth so hard it seemed like her gums would begin to bleed.

"Tch…! Who do you think you are, talking to the Yoshizawa Sisters like that? The only reason she has even the slightest bit of success is because of me! How  _ dare _ you ignore my effort! You aren't fit to be her Senpai at all… I'll make sure you stay away from my precious sister, on my honor as the eldest!"

He chuckled. "Bring, it lady." 

"GUARDS!"

They felt a sudden rush of wind as just about every door flung open at once, an onslaught of Shadows dressed as butlers and maids wielding various medieval weaponry and cleaning implements  _ like _ weapons rushing down the stairs to surround them.

" _ Rrk _ ! Joker, this is bad! There's no way we can take all on without your Persona!"

"Ye of little faith…"

"You can't get yourself killed here or we'll never change Sumire's heart! Come on, run!"

"Run  _ where? _ We're surrounded. It's now or never."

"Now or never for what…?"

He chuckled lowly, almost like a growl hidden beneath his trademark cocky smirk.

He leaned backwards, clenching his fist as a long, ornate dagger appeared in his right hand in a puff of blue flame.

He pointed his dagger to the nearest shadow ahead of him, making a  _ bring it  _ motion with his left before a demonic-looking pistol appeared in said hand.

"Let's go."

The shadows began to rush, Morgana screaming and disappearing into the sea of shadows as they all fell upon Joker. Sidestepping the blow of one butler armed with a lance, he slammed his foot down on the weapon and stabbed the shadow through the neck, causing it to evaporate into smoke.

"I want your best!" He turned to the crowd of shadows surrounding him, licking his lips with a wicked smile. "You're boring me! Come on, it's showtime!" 

As the next shadows begin to rush at him, he shoots one through the mask before leaping into the air as two shadows charge him at once, bringing his dagger onto one, before throwing it over his shoulder onto the other shadow and blasting them both with two rounds from his pistol.

Placing the dagger beneath his arm, he loads another magazine into the gun and cocks it with a smirk, eying the rest of the shadows,  _ daring  _ them to make a move.

" _ Hahaha… _ "

He backflips out of the way of an aggressing shadow, before leaping forward to pounce, driving his dagger through its shoulder.

_ "You truly are a worthy heir to my name…" _

He stands upright, placing his hand over his mask and his weapons dematerializing as he impassively observes the swarm of shadows surrounding him with the same amused smirk. 

"I know I am."

_ "Wonderful! Then henceforth, I am thou." _

"Thou art I." 

_ "From the sea of thy soul, I come, your manifested rebellion reborn…" _

_ " _ **Raoul** !" He shouts, whipping off his mask in an explosion of blue flame that blasts back his hair and throws his coat from his shoulders, leaving him in the long, grey, sweat-drenched shirt he wore beneath it.

A golden-winged demon in a red blazer and fedora, smoking an endless cigarette, manifested behind him.

"Hahaha…" He brushed the few loose, sweaty strands of hair left from his eyes, sweeping it all back with a single gloved hand.

" **_Let's crash this party_ ** !" 

As the shadows rapidly converged, Raoul swept back a golden, mechanical wing and his arm at the same time, almost turning his back to his foes, before sweeping his arm over to his face, a blast of smoke from his cigarette blowing over the hall that caused the shadows to suddenly collapse like flies in an electric trap.

"Gotcha now…" He grinned wildly, glancing to Morgana, who seemed to be trembling amongst a pile of sleeping shadows.

"Get ready. Your attacks with mine." 

"H-how did you do that?"

"You seemed less impressed when I shot the God of Control in the head!" 

"H-hahaha… Sure…"

"NO!" Kasumi yelled. "YOU…!"

He swore he caught Sumire's shadow with something like an almost hopeful expression. 

He winked to them, just to make sure-or rather, blinking with a dramatic head tilt and a sly eyebrow quirk- before Raoul slammed his wings together, unleashing a massive wave of crimson interweaved with black tendrils of energy.

"Let's go!"

As the shadows around them rapidly crumbled away in the wake of the blast, the thieves leapt into the air, with Joker attaching his grappling hook to Morgana to rapidly sling him around the room, annihilating the still-resisting shadows, as he himself bounced from wall to wall unleashing hail after hail of gunfire and frantic slashes.

By the time they were done, there wasn't a Shadow left on the floor- all disappeared into nothing.

"Get away from me…! Get away from my sister…! I won't let you spoil our dream…!" The false Kasumi practically screeched. 

He chuckled again. Loudly.

"You're…" His mask rematerialized on his face as Raoul disappeared, and he felt his knees almost buckle from exhaustion as he tried to gesture towards the not-quite-Ruler of the palace in a show of either bravado or foolhardiness.

Regaining his composure for a brief moment, he stood back up, allowing his hair to fall back into its usual style as he stared down Kasumi.

Thrusting his hand forward into an aggressive, accusatory point, he made his declaration-his  _ promise _ against the Princess of the Palace.

_ "You're next." _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who found motivation to write the next chapter sooner than thought?
> 
> As always, more to come, and thank you for reading!


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